iRacing Season 3 2026 Guide

With the mid-way point of the year now upon us, it’s time to delve deep into the goodies the development team at iRacing is bringing into the sim for the 2026 Season 3 update.

It’s a pretty packed update with a range of new cars, tracks, and game features that should help make your sim racing experience that bit more thrilling and immersive. 

In this guide, we’ll run you through all the standout additions coming to iRacing in the middle of June.

New Tracks

Like the previous update, only one all-new track will arrive in iRacing for the 2026 Season 3 content drop. The location in question is the Qualcomm Circuit in San Diego, which makes use of the Naval Base Coronado.

The track will be used for the first time in reality during 2026 in the NASCAR Cup Series at the end of June. The venue is set to be challenging no matter which car you choose to tame it, thanks to the various surface changes that mean the level of grip will be constantly changing. 

You’ll be able to try the circuit a week earlier than the real-life NASCAR drivers will, so it’s the perfect opportunity to feel like a driver coach as you watch your favourite racer try and work out the circuit. 

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Update

In addition, the legendary WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will receive a much-needed update. The track has been rebuilt from the ground up with an all-new scan, which backs up the various art refreshes applied to the track over the years.

The new track will be free to all drivers who purchased the circuit when it became paid content in 2025, though those who used the previous build as free content will have to buy it to continue competing on it going forward. The old build will be retired as legacy content. 

There are other changes for iRacing’s other tracks too, including:

• Full art refreshes for Chicagoland Speedway and Oran Park Raceway
• Full 3D Kerb inclusions for Motorsport Arena Oschlersleben and Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours (Oschlersleben also gets refreshed tree art)

New Cars

Alongside the new tracks, iRacers will also have a range of new machinery at their fingertips. Kicking off the additions is the BMW M2 Racing, which is based on the recently released G87 BMW M2 road car. The new car features an all-new cockpit and mechanical setup, and will replace the BMW M2 CS Racing within iRacing as one of the most popular single-make series available on the service. 

Like the CS Racing, the M2 Racing will be free to all players. The older car will remain in the sim, but only for private races and for racing against AI. Alongside this, the BMW M Hybrid V8 GTP racer will receive an update to bring it to its current real-life configuration, which debuted for the 2026 motorsport season. The Evo package brings a revised aero package and front grille design, as well as other under-the-skin changes to enhance its raceability. 

• The car will be made free to all drivers who own the original M Hybrid V8 car

Next up, there is something new that’ll grab the attention of stock car racers out there. The long-awaited EuroNascar RC01 is finally making its iRacing debut, a car that tends to the interests of European-based stock car fans.

Like a traditional American stock car, the RC01 wades into battle with a large naturally aspirated V8. The machine is geared more towards road courses, so expect it to be more agile than the likes of the NASCAR O’Reilly Series machine. 

Finally, the Formula Vee will be receiving some new friends. Alongside the current free version, two more vehicles that feature new bodywork will be incorporated to add some extra spice and variety to the grids of every Formula Vee contest. Each car will have identical performance, but will look slightly different. 

• The new cars will be paid content, though you’ll save money by opting for a two-for-one purchase

Additional Vehicle Updates

Alongside the new content, several of iRacing’s current vehicles will receive some welcome refinements. 

• Dallara IR18 will receive bodywork tweaks to reflect real-life changes
• Porsche 999.2 Cup Car gets ‘X’ Tape placed on its headlight lenses, which gives it a more classical look
• The SK and Tour Modifieds get a ground-up physics refresh to bring them up to modern standards

AI Improvements

Another key addition that will form a part of iRacing 2026 Season 3 is the inclusion of Dirt AI. Initially, this will allow you to complete dirt events against the AI in either the Dirt Legends Ford ‘34 Coupe and Dirt Street Stock vehicles, with other dirt vehicles set to be included in the programme through future updates.

More tracks will also be worked on to feature AI racing beyond the initial list included with this update, while further work will be carried out to refine the AI for future advancements of the service. AI Heat racing is also set to join the offline experience in future updates. 

Should you fancy elevating your driving level when out on track in iRacing, Coach Dave Academy has put together a list of tips and tricks that should help you make that step.

UI Tweaks

As with previous iRacing season updates, 2026 Season 3 brings along some new UI revisions to help make racing that little bit less taxing. One of the biggest inclusions is a range of dynamic track maps, which more clearly show each of your competitors and their current position. They’re available in different styles, with small and larger 3D maps, as well as a 2D progression-style bar. 

In multi-class races, the different categories are illustrated in different colours around the track, which should make it easier to work out which cars you’re coming up on, and which vehicles are catching you. This will make race management more straightforward. 

Other UI additions include:

• Fuel Calculator: An in-built fuel calculator can now be used as a handy resource, allowing you to see how much fuel you’re using in real time
• This will allow you to better plan or alter your strategy on the fly, and could be the crucial tool needed to try and stretch out your stint by a crucial extra lap
• The tyre compounds used by your opponents will now be visible in the UI
• An Incident Tracker is now available, which can be used to remind you how many incident points you have, and how many you can suffer before receiving a penalty in whichever discipline you’re racing
• You can now drag and resize the different widgets on the screen to provide a better personal compromise

Pit Road Change

Finally, iRacing has tweaked how the Pit Speed limiter works within the software. In the previous version, the limiter could prove restrictive in certain areas, which allowed drivers to go faster than the auto limiter by manually sticking to the speed limit. The new system uses a PID controller, which affords a more precise limiter that can run much closer to the designated speed limit. 

Due to this precision though, shifting gears while running through the pit lane could briefly cause an overspeed situation, which will net you an unwelcome penalty. Overall though, the new system should eradicate any kind of speed penalty for those who rely on the speed limiter rather than control the pit speed themselves. 

iRacing has further refined the software with this latest update, with excellent new features and content that’ll help not only add even more variety, but also greater refinement. With plenty more set to be introduced for the Season 4 update, it’s an exciting time to be an iRacer.